Day by Day
by rosenthal
Summary: The untold stories about the characters’ life, from the beginning of the series to beyond the nationals, focusing on Seigaku. Later, I’ll add two original characters as well. This is based on the manga.
1. Chapter 1: The meaning of being a senpai

**Day by Day**

Description: The untold stories about the characters' life, from the beginning of the series to beyond the nationals (in this fanfiction, U-17 never happens), focusing on Seigaku. Later, I'll add two original characters as well. This is based on the manga.

Warning: This fanfiction revolves mainly around friendship but, since most of them are teenagers, they'll eventually experience the rollercoaster of emotions that is so typical of their age: romance, lust, grudge, discoveries, choices, and so on. Since I'm an open-minded person, there will be both hetero and homo relationships, as there is in real life. This isn't a 100% yaoi or 100% straight fiction. You've been warned.

* * *

**The meaning of being a senpai**

Leaning against the entrance wall, a spiked haired teen glanced towards the sky, watching the lazy movements of the clouds. Despite the exciting events that took place an hour before, the afternoon seemed to drag in a quiet slow motion, with the casual breeze blowing past the trees, making some flower petals dance through the air.

The school behind him was already submerged in silence, since most of the students were already gone. Only the decorations and the welcome sign gave off some of the festive vibes the beginning of a school year often brought with it.

Truth be told, Momoshiro Takeshi wasn't in one of his best moods when he woke up this morning. Due to a twisted ankle, he couldn't participate in a playing tour with his teammates and had to stay behind. Slowly, but surely, the festive vibe got him and he caught himself checking out some cute first year girls, goofing around with his classmates and 'helping' one lost freshman or two.

And when said freshman showed some great skills at tennis, things got much more interesting. He recalled Ryuuzaki-sensei mentioning a newcomer that could do the twist serve, so Momoshiro challenged the shorty to a match, despite his own injury. The cocky brat proved to be a worthy opponent, and had almost beaten him fair and square.

"Echizen Ryoma, huh?"

He made sure not to forget that name and promised himself that he would challenge Echizen again once he was completely recovered and make the younger boy use his dominant hand.

At this point, a noise caught his attention and he saw the shape of a white and blue bus making a turn at the street. He grinned and detached himself off the wall, waving at the bus. As soon as it stopped, a bundle of red hair dashed out off the door:

"Hoi~hoi! Ah, Momo-chan! You were waiting for us, nya~?"

"Of course, Eiji-senpai! I wanna know everything that happened at the tour, I really do! Down to the sordid details…" Momo winked playfully at his upperclassman, who flashed a cat-like grin in return. Even though Eiji was older than him and already a senior (from today onwards), he felt that the acrobatic player was his closest friend at school.

"Ah, Momo. How is your ankle?"

That was vice-captain Oishi, the pacific and reliable worrywart of the group.

"Much better, senpai. I even played against an inspiring newcomer."

"Momo! You shouldn't play until you are completely recovered!"

Laughing about Oishi's motherly tendencies, Kikumaru jumped at his doubles partner, putting his weight at Oishi's shoulders.

"Nyahaha… Don't be a worrier, Momo-chan is just fine, see?" Eiji pointed to Momo and returned to the ground "Ho~i!"

While Oishi continued to fuss about Momoshiro's ankle, the other regulars got off the bus. Fuji was smiling mildly interested at the scene, with Kawamura beside him. Inui was reading his notebook (or pretending to, no one could tell where he was looking at, with the thick glasses and all) and Kaidoh was facing the opposite way from his teammates. Kaidoh Kaoru couldn't care less about the peach-head and his idiocies.

A cough caught everyone attention and they moved to make a circle and hear what their captain had to say. Tezuka started talking:

"Since all the regulars are here, including Momoshiro, I wish to speak some words." Everyone got curious at this statement, since Tezuka was the straight-to-the-point kind of captain, and was rarely talkative like now.

"Today marks the beginning of a new school year, and another important step of our lives. From this day onwards, most of us will be seniors, meaning we will be the seen as the school's guiding examples…" Tezuka looked at each of the 3rd years in the eye.

Oishi and Fuji gave a soft smile. Kikumaru nodded his head energetically, saying "yup, yup" in the process. Kawamura scratched the back of his head, not sure he was good enough to be a 'guiding example'. Lastly, but not least, Tezuka could swear he saw a suspicious glint at Inui's glasses.

"… As for Momoshiro and Kaidoh, now you are considered senpais. Once, you were under the zealous guidance of your upperclassman. Now, you have matured and it's time to do the same to your kouhais…"

Momshiro's face beamed at this, while Kaidoh made a deep bow. Coming from their captain's mouth, this was a huge compliment and a great responsibility.

"… With that in mind, let's move forward without faltering!"

Everyone cheered at this (especially Eiji and Momo), and Oishi couldn't help but clap at Tezuka's speech. It was very moving and made him proud of his stoic friend. Under the stone façade, lied a very charismatic leader. It was one of the reasons he was appointed captain after all.

* * *

Notes:

1. Since most of the regulars missed the first day of school, I can totally picture Tezuka filling in for the teacher's speech. Sorry if that sounded a little OOC, but I'm not changing it.

2. English isn't my primary language, so beta readers are welcome.


	2. Chapter 2: Friendship and burgers

Friendship and Burgers

After Tezuka's speech, everyone was dismissed and parted ways. The captain and vice-captain remained at the school to talk with coach Ryuuzaki, while the others went home. Since Momoshiro wasn't with his bike (he couldn't ride it because of his twisted ankle), he was now walking to the station together with Eiji, who started talking about his matches:

"…So, Oishi saw right through it and finished with a Moon Volley~yon!" Kikumaru mimicked his partner's trademark move "Nyahaha! You should have seen their faces, nya!"

"Yeah, I bet it was funny! Very funny, I bet!" Momshiro laughed with his energetic friend. Suddenly he felt (and heard) his stomach rumbling.

"I'm hungry…" Momo looked ahead and saw a familiar sign "How about a small stop?" He gestured towards the 'A' sign with his head.

"Nya, burgers! I'm in!"

"You are paying, right?"

"Why should I?" Kikumaru crossed his arms and pouted.

"How mean, Eiji-senpai!" Momoshiro faked a hurt expression "You are going to leave your helpless, INJURED kouhai to die out of hunger? I never thought you were this kind of person, never at all!"

"All right, all right, just because you are the poor little Momo-C.H.A.N~"

The duo entered the fast-food joint and ordered the usual. They took a table beside the windows and attacked the food, stopping only to make one joke or another. After they were finished, Momoshiro patted his stomach, satisfied, and Eiji restarted the conversation:

"What about you, Momo-chan? You said earlier that you played against a freshman, nya! Tell me about it, yon."

"Ah yes, that!" Momo eyes' gleamed "Do you remember what Ryuuzaki said about a new student?"

"Hoi? The one with the twist serve? It was him???" Eiji stood up and inclined forward, almost jumping over the table.

"Exactly! And I experienced that serve first-handed! I even managed to return it after some tries, I did!"

"So… You defeated him even with an injury? Then he isn't that great, nyon…" The acrobatic player returned to his seat, a little disappointed.

"Actually, I didn't…"

Eiji was up again: "You lost????"

"Didn't either."

"Hoi?"

Momoshiro couldn't help but chuckle a little at his friend's confused face. The smaller boy even cocked his head sideways, like a cat or a puppy. Then he started explaining:

"Making a long story short, the brat is good. He noted my twisted ankle and played with his non-dominant hand. After I returned his serves and made some points, he became serious and switched it. At this point, I called off the game."

Kikumaru nodded, finally understanding.

"So, what's his name?"

"Echizen Ryoma."

Outside the shop, some passersby avoided the weird teen with spiky hair and rectangular glasses that was crouching under the A Burger window. Inui Sadaharu ignored the disapproving glares he was receiving and continued writing in his notebook.


	3. Chapter 3: Echizen Ryoma

Notes: Echizen finally makes his official appearance. This is a short chapter about his relationship with his family.

It's taking me a long time to update this fanfiction because I'm writing, reading and rewriting the chapters. I had some finished, but decided to make a lot of changes.

* * *

Echizen Ryoma

Ryoma grumbled and slapped the irritating alarm off. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by a familiar sight:

"Morning, Karupin…"

"Meow"

Slowly, he stood up and went to the bathroom. He hated mornings, and the previous night really spoiled his mood. Everything was alright until that idiotic father of his not only dragged him to a match but bugged him the entire time, questioning him about the school, the old coach, the team… And, of course, about girls.

Ryoma could still hear that annoying voice in his head: "How are the girls at Seigaku? Are they well-endowed *wink-wink*? Made any fans yet? Saw any panties today?" and so on…

A soft, small purring sound caught his attention. Karupin was rubbing against his legs.

"I'm fine, Karupin. Just thinking about that stupid old man."

"Mew."

"Yeah, I just need to ignore him."

He finished brushing his teeth and returned to his bedroom, where he changed into Saigaku's uniform and took his bag. Once Ryoma stepped into the kitchen, he was delighted to see a Japanese breakfast. His mother, on the opposite side of his father, was the sensitive type and always knew when he was in bad mood and how to cheer him up. The old man only knew how to piss him off.

"Good morning, Ryoma. You are early today" his cousin said with a warm smile.

"Morning, Nanako. Morning, mom." He sat and saw his mother reply a soft 'morning, dear' to him.

"Today is the registration day, right?"

"hn-n" The boy just made an affirmative sound, too busy munching an omelet filled with rice.

Nanako decided to let him enjoy his breakfast in peace and resumed eating her own food. When Ryoma finished his plate, his mother put a square box on the table:

"Here's your lunchbox. I made some fried shrimps today."

He couldn't help but smile a little. When Ryoma heard his cousin giggle, he shifted the smile with a scowl.

"Thanks, mom." He tucked the box inside his bag. "I'm going."

"Goodbye. Have a nice day." Both females said in unison.

* * *

The morning air felt crispy against Ryoma's skin. He enjoyed his time alone walking to school, not having to care about anyone else chatting out loud. Everywhere else was the same for him: Japan, America, school or home. There would always be the screaming fans (yesterday was his first day at school and some random Tomo-something girl fawned over him), bullies (like those non-regulars), yapping monkey-boys (Horio… ugh) and… his dad, samurai Nanjiroh.

He only felt comfortable around his cat and his mother. Karupin, because it took so little to please him while the animal always showered Ryoma with his full affection. Echizen Rinko, because she was a strong and sensitive woman, supportive when needed or deadly bossy when the situation demanded it.

Nanako was still a stranger for him, even after 4 years living under the same roof. She moved to the Echizen household after her father passed away and spent one whole year isolated at her room. After that, his cousin just appeared one day, all smiles, saying she wanted to be a doctor. That cheerful attitude spooked Ryoma, and the boy kept his distance.

And Nanjiroh… Well, he was just some perverted old man. An idiotic perverted old man. That always beat him in tennis.

The boy closed his cat-like eyes and rubbed his temples. Thinking about his father made him feel a headache coming. Raking his fingers through his black hair that shone green with sunlight, Ryoma pictured Karupin with the 'forget-about-him-and-play-with-me' look.

Occupying his mind with feline friends, yummy lunches and tennis, Ryoma started his day anew. With such happy thoughts, he made no effort to shut Horio away (who was waiting at the school gates), fill the registration form and mislead another grumpy second-year.


	4. Chapter 4: New classmates

I thought about writing a chapter with Arai's point of view, but since it would be too troublesome and he's a minor character, decided not to.

Notes: Finally, the OCs make an appearance. I changed the racquet incident from afternoon to morning, because it worked better with the story flow.

* * *

New Classmates

Class 3-2

Inui Sadaharu kept writing in his notebook, while he calculated the probability of Tezuka letting that 1st year Echizen to participate at the ranking matches:

"Hmm… He possesses a great respect for rules and is a very strict captain, but at the same time, Tezuka always encourages and push players to a higher level when he thinks they are worthy… Considering today's match between Arai and Echizen wielding that really old racquet… Tezuka assigning us laps means he saw everything… mumble mumble…"

Finishing his train of thoughts, he wrote down a satisfying 87% in his notebook. Putting it aside, he noted Kawamura looking sheepishly from his desk, pointing that the homeroom teacher had already arrived. Keeping his composed face, Inui just fixed his gaze to the teacher while reprehending himself for mumbling and not paying attention to his surroundings. This old habit could make him loose some important data sooner or later.

Ms. Atsuko just coughed lightly and began to speak:

"Everyone, today I have some special news. It's a little sudden, but we'll have a new classmate."

Everyone started whispering at this point. After all, the chance of a senior transferring schools AFTER the beginning of the school year was close to nil. Even Sadaharu was curious at this point and he reached for his notebook again. This could be good data.

The teacher called someone from outside and, suddenly, the classroom went quiet.

The newcomer was a real beauty, and both boys and girls were at a loss for words while they stared/gawked at her. She had milky white skin, not the unhealthy pale white, but the kind of fair skin that seems to glow a soft light. Her straight black hair made a strong contrast against her face, cascading all the way down her shoulders. She was tall for a girl (1,72m he calculated), but her slender figure and elegant movements made her very feminine.

When she finished writing her name at the blackboard, she faced them and Inui saw her most distinguishing mark: she had long thin eyes with blue orbs.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Alexis Kaoru von Rosenthal. I hope to get along with you all, even though the semester has already started."

At once, the silence was broken by a lot of happy replies: "of course!", "let's be friends!", "are you a foreigner?", "kyaaa, she's so cool!", "wow, we're so lucky!", "may we call you Kaoru-chan?", "are those blue eyes for real?"…

Ms. Atsuko took over the introductions:

"Well, everyone, Kaoru-san just moved from Germany, so let's help her feel at home, okay? And don't forget to help her with the classes she missed, right, Chizuru-san?"

"Hai, sensei!" The class rep quickly answered.

"Well then. Kaoru-san, you may take that vacant desk next to the window"

The vacant desk in case was the one in front of Inui. People often found him weird and scary, avoiding him at all costs. Even the class rep, that used to sit next to him, begged to change seats with Kawamura. Of course the shy and gentle boy complied, besides, Taka-san deeply admires Inui for being 3rd strongest of the tennis team using his logical skills, something that he lacks.

When the half-Japanese girl reached her seat, she politely greeted him before sitting. Inui merely nodded back and noted with the corner of his eyes that Kawamura was blushing. The taller boy almost smirked and wrote about it in his notebook.

* * *

Class 1-1

The classroom was filled with excited voices and loud chattering when the homeroom teacher arrived. They were all talking about the great new freshman Echizen Ryoma from class 1-2 and asking Kachiro and Katsuo about what happened during practice this morning. It seems that the tennis prodigy managed to beat a second-year with a racket falling apart!

"Everyone, take your seats! Class is going to start now!"

"Hai, Saito-sensei!"

After the students ran back to their places and calmed down, Mr. Saito decided to go straight to the point and called someone from the corridor. A tall blond girl with pigtails entered and smiled to everyone.

"She's a new student that just transferred from Germany and will be joining our class"

"Hi everyone! I'm Adelheid von Rosenthal, but since my name is kinda difficult, you can call me Adde-chan!!!"

Everyone started blabbing at the same time, so Saito cut it short:

"Greeting time is over! You can talk to her later during break. For now, let's concentrate on our studies. Adde-san, please take that seat on the back row."

Hilde sat between Kachiro and Katsuo and smiled happily to her new neighbors with sparkling green eyes:

"Let's be friends!"

* * *

Class distribution:

Class 1-1: Kachiro, Katsuo, Adelheid

Class 1-2: Ryoma, Horio

Class 1-3: Sakuno, Tomoka

Class 2-1: Momoshiro

Class 2-2: Kaido (and Arai, if you care)

Class 2-3: no one relevant (like the bullies Hayashi and Ikeda)

Class 3-1: Tezuka, Oishi

Class 3-2: Inui, Kawamura, Alexis

Class 3-3: Eiji, Fuji


	5. Chapter 5: The day before

Notes: I had some trouble with the chapters 4, 5 and 6, because they focus too much on the OCs. If you are afraid this will turn into some 'harem' story (all the boys fall in love with some random Mary Sue that pops out of nowhere), I can assure you it won't. I specially put some extra effort to make sure it shows more of the PoT characters' point of view than the OCs'.

* * *

The day before the ranking matches

Coach Ryuuzaki Sumire shifted through some papers and grinned to the two boys in front of her.

"So, Tezuka, it seems you made up your mind." She pointed Echizen Ryoma's name at the participant's sheet.

"Aa." – It was the stoic boy's short response. Oishi quickly filled the silence for his captain:

"It's good to have new talented players. After all, they will be the club's future."

Ryuuzaki nodded and her grin got larger. Tezuka bowed and looked through the window.

"That's all for today. I'll take my leave now and make sure they train properly" Tezuka crossed his arms, eyeing the courts outside "If they have the time and energy to play around like this morning, they may as well do some basic training."

Oishi just scratched the back of his head; he knew what would be coming: a marathon and practicing strokes 500 times.

After the boys left, Sumire opened her drawer and took off two international letters. One was from America, written by that lazy good-for-nothing Najiroh, while the other was from Germany, sent by a very prestigious school.

"Well, well… That chibi prince won't be the only surprise for the tennis team… I wonder if this is destiny, indeed. This is going to be an interesting year."

* * *

"Gahhh! Training is a killer here! I can't even stand up and move my arms!" - Horio was loud as always.

Kachiro just replied: "Yeah, but this must be one of the secrets to Seigaku's strength"

Katsuo silently agreed with Kachiro, while he tried to regain his breath.

"Mada mada dane"

The three boys looked at Ryoma, the only first-year that wasn't sprawled on the floor, and Horio felt a bit envious:

"Che, you don't need to show off just because you have a little more experience"

The other two swatdropped at this. After all, it was Horio that bragged all the time about his two-year experience with tennis. Ryoma just ignored and walked away:

"I'm thirsty" He pocketed his hands and turned to the exit. If only Horio was here, he wouldn't say anything and just leave right away, but the two other boys seemed nice enough. Even though Ryoma valued his solitude, he also needed a human friend or two.

"Ah, wait! We're going with you!"

The quartet made their way to the fountain and drank to their hearts content. They also splashed some water on their faces to cool off. After their thirst was taken care of, they finally noticed the ruckus at the girl's courts.

"Hey, what's going on there?" Horio tried to see something past the crowd.

"Ah, Kachiro! It must be about the new girl, right?" Katsuo turned to his bowl-cut classmate, who tried to clarify things to a confused Horio.

"Oh yeah! She did say she was into tennis!"

"WHAT??!!" The monkey-boy yelled at his friends' faces "You managed to talk to that super-cute, ultra-hot german girl???" he grabbed Kachiro's shirt and shook him.

"Well, she sits right between us…" The taller boy started explaining when Horio released Kachiro and cut in:

"Then you MUST introduce me to her!"

While the goofy trio continued their antics, Ryoma adjusted his cap and casually approached the crowd:

"Ne, what's happening?"

A nearby upperclassman answered without taking his eyes off the scene:

"The new first-year is defeating every single regular of the girl's tennis club. They couldn't even make one point against her! Right now she is playing against the captain… First was the freshman from the boy's club, now the girl's. Seishun Gakuen is turning upside down…"

Said 'freshman from the boy's club' merely 'hn'ed to himself and tried to find a way to get closer to the scene. At these times he cursed his low stature and envied the taller student, who could see everything even from the back of the crowd.

Circling the court, he found a good spot and approached the fence. Unfortunately for him, they weren't playing anymore. The captain was kneeling over, too ashamed to raise her face, while the tall blonde pouted. The referee took a while to declare the result:

"Ma-match won by Adde-san! Six games to love!"

A small part of Echizen was a bit disappointed to miss what happened, but the greater part didn't care. In his opinion, girls are terrible players and even women pro tennis is too boring to watch. Shrugging it off, he turned around, just to see the goofy trio closing in.

"How cunning! Ryoma found a good spot and left us behind!" - Horio attached himself to the fence and started fanboying – "Uwaaa, Adde-chan is so cool!!!"

Horio in fanboy mode was definitely a gross sight to see, so the other boys kept their distance. Ryoma just walked past them.

"Hey, are you leaving already?"

The prodigy flatly answered: "Not interested" and made his way to the clubhouse.

No one else was inside so Echizen took this rare opportunity to shower slowly and gather his thoughts. Despite his "I don't care about anything" attitude, the idea of defeating the regulars and play against his captain was burned inside his mind. Would the ranking matches tomorrow prove to be his chance?

He scowled a bit when he remembered that archaic rule that forbids first-years until summer camp.

"Whatever, no use thinking about it"


	6. Chapter 6: The night before

The night before the ranking matches

Inui finished reading his notes about his possible opponents at the upcoming matches, including what he had gathered about Echizen. It was the first time he studied his dear data so half-heartily. Something else was nagging for his attention.

Flipping some pages, he reached the page containing two new inserts: the sisters Alexis and Adelheid von Rosenthal. At first, judging by Alexis physical built, he calculated a 72% of her being a tennis player. After seeing her younger sister today, the probability rose to 90%.

Ah yes, the younger sister. That afternoon, Inui quickly finished his training and left to gather more data on the mysterious transfer students. Unfortunately, Alexis was nowhere to be seen, so he went after Adelheid and saw her amazing performance.

The girl's team isn't that strong and is fairly laid back (most of the members are in for the fun), but that doesn't invalidate her victory. 'Adde-chan' had good accuracy, great power, and almost infinite stamina (she jumped around as much as Kikumaru and didn't break a sweat after 8 straight matches). During her match against the captain, she even used the split step to reach some of the faster balls. In a sense, she was as good as their freshman Echizen.

The Rosenthal sisters are also rich, to say the least. He saw when they left in a limo, with a butler in tow. Wealthy, german and excellent player. Why would they leave Germany for Japan? That didn't make any sense for him.

Sadaharu leaned against his chair and glanced at the alarm clock at his bedside.

"I still got some time"

Turning his computer on, he opened a search website and inserted some words. He wasn't surprised when he found out that the Rosenthal family made the European economy go round. After some searching, a gossip journal about the famous and rich caught his attention:

"Adopted, uh? That explain her half-japanese looks…"

A tabloid also had some old archives about the Rosenthal: "Oh, I see… Quite a scandal… Ii data…"

Next, he decided to check if there was anything about them winning tennis tournaments. Nothing appeared under the Adelheid von Rosenthal name.

"Odd."

Next was Alexis Kaoru von Rosenthal. This time, lots of websites were listed and most of them were in german. He found one in English (he dominated this language quite well) and opened it. It was a British fansite dedicated to Alexis, listing quite a lot of feats. Inui blinked behind his glasses. Doubting the info in that particular site, he searched others. All said the same things and the forums were particularly insightful.

Jotting down the last of his notes, he glanced at his clock again and cringed. Now it was past his bedtime and he wouldn't be able to sleep his healthy 8 hours. Not good when he had important matches tomorrow.

Sighting, Sadaharu lied down on his bed, put his glasses aside and arranged his pillows to a better position. That night he had a weird dream about a small sentient notebook with legs and arms running after his favorite green notebook and ripping it apart.

* * *

Notes: I love Inui and I love picturing (or should I say calculating?) his actions – there is a 100% probability of him making this kind of 'data gathering'. By the way, the manga hints too much on a certain relationship involving Inui… I'm a fan of that pairing as well xD


	7. Chapter 7: Girl's side

Girl's side

"Sakunoooooooooooo!!!"

The high-pitched yell resounded through the hallway, making some students look at one running girl.

"Hey, no running or yelling at the hallways!"

"S-sorry, senpai!" Tomoka bowed her head and slowed her pace, reaching her friend who had a puzzled look on her face.

"Is something the matter, Tomoka-chan?"

"Sakunooo… Tell me the truth! That girl really did it???"

"Uh, what are you talking about?"

"Meimi-chan called me yesterday and told me the new girl caused a ruckus! Y'know, the blonde one that all the boys are talking about" Tomoka couldn't hide her jealousy at that.

"Un, yes. She beat all my senpais from the tennis club, even captain Yue…"

"That's not what I'm talking about!"

"No?" Sakuno was now totally lost. Even though they were childhood friends, sometimes it was impossible to understand what was going on Tomoka's mind.

"I'm talking about her devilish scheme to rob Ryoma-sama to herself! Is it true that she lured him with that _fake _siren's call, showing her tennis skills, making him confess his love in front of everyone???" The hyper girl looked angry and appalled at the same time.

Sakuno's eyes bulged at the ridiculous rumor: "No! I mean… I was there and saw everything, and Ryoma wasn't even there…"

"Really, really?"

Sakuno nodded.

"Phew, that worried me. Even so, Meimi-chan also told me that –" The school bell rang, cutting off Tomoka's sentence "Kyaaa! We're going to be late! Hurry!"

With that, Sakuno was dragged to class 1-3 by one very energetic Tomoka-chan. Really, they were so different… Sometimes the braided girl wondered how they became friends, but always remembered how Tomoka was always by her side, making her laugh and forget about bad things. She may look shallow, but was a good-natured and supportive friend.

* * *

By the time of lunch recess, Sakuno heard various rumors about the transfer sisters (mostly from Tomoka). Yesterday they were the new idols, now they are regarded with caution. It began with Adelheid winning against the regulars and declining to enter the club. Everyone else saw it as an act of snobbism, but Sakuno had a different perception. When Adelheid left the courts, she looked disappointed, sad and… somewhat pained.

"Being talented and rich doesn't make someone a bad person" Sakuno though out loud.

"Sakuno-chan, you aren't picking that girl's side, are you?" Tomoka's voice startled the shy girl, since she forgot for a minute she wasn't alone.

"You are too naïve! Besides, the problem is how she looks down on everyone else! Her sister too! I've seen her once and she has this air of superiority, not showing any kind of emotion, as if it was below her… Actually, she gives me the chills… Like she hides some kind of deep secret… Oh, yeah! They don't even look alike; there really must be something wrong about them…"

Before Tomoka ranted another shameless rumor, Sakuno decided to politely interrupt:

"I'm sorry… I need to go to the library now."

"Oh, okay. I'm going to the cafeteria and meet some girls. They want to join Ryoma-sama's fan club! Go join us when you are done!"

Sakuno sighed and went to the library. Her grandmother said it had some books about tennis, full of pictures. She wanted to know more about this sport and be able to maintain a decent conversation with Ryoma.

After browsing the library for some time, Sakuno picked the easiest book available, one that was probably made for grade-schoolers. Even though her grandmother tried to teacher her tennis when she was little, the shy girl never showed real interest for it, so she only remembered one rule or another.

Deciding to spend more time away from gossips, the braided girl exited the building and headed opposite ways from the cafeteria. While she was looking for a nice spot to eat lunch, she stumbled upon Ryoma.

* * *

Echizen Ryoma was relaxing under a tree with his eyes closed, thinking about nothing when he heard someone approaching. First, he decided to ignore it, but the steps came to a halt and the person didn't budge for quite a time. Feeling a bit annoyed, Ryoma took the cap off his face and glared.

The poor braided girl got startled and dropped her things on the ground. Her face flushed and she bowed many times, muttering "sorry", and kneeled down to pick up her things. Ryoma, who was expecting some irritating senior, regretted his action a little bit and helped her.

A colorful book caught his attention and he reached for it. It was a very childish book about tennis. The girl, who he recognized as being Sakuno, gasped and tore it from his hands. She quickly stood up, hid the book under her lunchbox and hugged them tightly against her chest.

Such reaction amused Ryoma, who got up, put his cap back and said:

"Mada mada dane… Sakuno."

After that, he just left the girl alone with her own thoughts: Sakuno didn't know if she should skip in joy of being remembered or hide in a hole somewhere from the embarrassing situation.

* * *

Important note: As far as I know, Sakuno is the character with the biggest discrepancy between the manga and the anime. And since this fanfiction is based on the manga, I'll explain her for those who only watched the anime: Sakuno is a shy, mature and hardworking girl. Even though she is a beginner at tennis, she is talented and attentive enough to know when Ryoma's play is off (like when he fools some data gatherers) and to be pointed as regular-material at the end of the series. And she has a bad direction sense (or no sense at all). That's the Sakuno I'll try to portrait here.


End file.
